


On the Run

by Spoods



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon 2012), Unwind Dystology - Neal Shusterman
Genre: And maybe Harry's yet-to-be-revealed boyfriend too, Bisexual Peter Parker, Bisexual harry Osborn, But also very refined gentlemen, But for this story they have to be dicks for a bit, Crossover, Friendship conquers all, Gen, Harry knows Peter is spider-man, I'm so sorry I love them I promise, Kinda, Lots of OCs - Freeform, Norman Osborn Being a Jerk, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Perhaps Jack will get a cameo at the end :3, Richard and Mary suck for a while, Road Trip Adventure, Spider-Man Crossover, They're not dating though they have boyfriends to find later, Uhhh if I think of any others I'll add them, Unwinding Mention, Xavier and Roberto are nasty bastards, cannibalism mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23655370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoods/pseuds/Spoods
Summary: After discovering they're to be unwound over the next week, Peter and Harry make a life-changing decision to kick AWOL and go "on the run", so to speak. What ensues is probably typical for any renegade Unwind, except, of course, for the constant threat of cannibal parts pirates. That's not so normal.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 5





	1. In Which the 'Adventure' Begins

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna start posting another story because I'm excited about it and I CAN!!! 
> 
> I've already got a good amount of chapters for this one done, and they need far less editing than Undertale and Somethin' Different do, so it'll be something easier for me to upload when I'm under more stress :3c Plus I love Unwind very much and love working on this story, so maybe this'll give me incentive to keep writing it. All I will ever post here are Spider-Man crossovers and AUs and I hope y'all are okay with that. Enjoy! (:

He found the Unwind order on a Friday. He’d been up in his room, reading some novel or other as he usually did on lazy afternoons, when he’d felt a sneeze coming on. As there were no tissues in his room, he’d set down his book, gotten up, and went into the hallway, intending to head to the bathroom to grab one. However, on his way there, he’d noticed that the door to his father’s study was slightly ajar.

_ That’s strange, _ he thought, tilting his head.  _ Dad never leaves that door open. _

Harry knew he shouldn’t have gone in. He knew what a tongue-lashing he’d receive if he dared to breach his father’s private study; he’d heard the threats all before.

_ “Harry, if you so much as step one toe inside my study, you’ll be unwound faster than you can stammer some bumbling apology.” _

That sounded about right. He could almost hear Norman’s voice in his head as something possessed him to slowly shuffle closer and closer to that door. Still, even despite the very real threat of being unwound hanging over his head, Harry didn’t feel that worried; his father was away at the moment and wouldn’t be back until later that evening. Sure, he’d probably be petrified once Norman returned, and would wonder for weeks on end if maybe he’d somehow found out and was just waiting for the right moment to spring the Unwind order on him, but at the moment, Harry’s insatiable curiosity won him over, and he ventured into the study.

Immediately upon entering the dim room, Harry felt a sort of chill pass over him.

_ Weird,  _ he thought, creeping deeper inside.  _ It’s not even drafty in here. _

He glanced around the room quickly, and a box of tissues on the desk caught his eye.

_ Ah-ha! _

His need to sneeze had all but evaporated since spying the open door, but he figured he should take some back to his room just in case. He walked over to the antique wooden desk and reached for the tissue box, intending to take about four or five. As he tugged the tissues free of their container, the box shifted ever so slightly, revealing two colored forms just beneath it; one pink, one yellow. It appeared that there had been another paper that had once been attached to these two, but it had been torn off.

Harry felt his chest seize, and a cold, clammy hand crushed his stomach in its grip. This couldn’t be what it looked like. It just couldn’t.

With shaky hands, Harry reached for the papers and picked them up. The forms were identical, and each paper had the words  **Unwind Order** written at the top in bold black lettering. He inhaled sharply, and he could feel his knees start to wobble involuntarily.

A cursory scan of the top form divulged all that Harry needed to know: the name listed for Unwinding was his own, and the date was set for June 26. Tomorrow.

The forms dropped to the desk as Harry took a step backwards, his breathing beginning to shallow. The boy’s head spun, and his thoughts ran in a circle, going from the information on the forms, to what specific action could possibly have warranted his Unwinding, to what on earth he was going to do, and back again. Finally, he turned on his heel and fled the room, the entire thing just too much for his brain to handle.

As soon as he was back in his room, Harry flung himself on his bed and hyperventilated into his pillow.

_ No, no, GOD, NO! THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! I- I did everything right! I swear I did everything right! This has to be a mistake! _

Of course, deep down, he knew it wasn’t a mistake. His father had been threatening him with Unwinding for years, and Norman was not someone who joked about that sort of thing, or about anything at all. He’d promised Unwinding if Harry was unable to pull his grades up; he’d promised Unwinding if Harry spoke back to him; he’d promised Unwinding if Harry was anything less than perfect, and it appeared his son had fallen short of what he’d expected.

_ Tomorrow…I only have until tomorrow. Less than 24 hours until my entire life is stripped away. _

He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling as tears began to sting his eyes. He’d always known his father didn’t care for him, but seeing the Unwind order sitting there on that desk had driven it home like a punch to the gut.

Amidst his muddled, panicked thoughts as he laid there on the bed, one tiny, yet persistent thought kept rising to the top.

_ You could run away. _

Harry shook his head half-heartedly. No, that would never work. Kids who kicked AWOL rarely made it farther than a few blocks before being picked up by some juvie cop or a parts pirate. If he ran, they’d take the greatest pleasure in hunting him down, tranqing him, and forcibly transporting him to a harvest camp.

_ It’s your only shot, _ the voice in his head protested.  _ What other choice do you have? Get sent to a harvest camp and torn apart like some animal at a meat processing plant? _

Harry sat up and drew his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around them.

_ But I…I’d never make it,  _ he thought bleakly.  _ I can’t even drive! And I’m so ridiculously preppy-looking that I’d stick out like a sore thumb on the street. Let’s face it: I’m doomed. I don’t even have anyone I could ask to come with me. What kid would kick AWOL with an Unwind who isn’t even an Unwind themself? _

A name came to Harry’s mind, and he immediately scolded himself for even thinking of it.

_ No. You’re not asking him. Absolutely not. You know Peter would be ready to drop everything if it meant helping you and that is exactly why you’re not going to ask him to kick AWOL with you. I…I can’t do that to my best friend. If I’m doing this, I’m doing this alone. _

He swallowed.

_ It’s my problem. No one else’s. _

He stayed in that position for a while longer, his thoughts all but coming to a stand-still save for one.

_ So are you doing this or not? _

A slow exhale. 

_ …It’s my only chance. _

Harry slowly unclasped his arms and stretched out his legs, then made himself stand. He mechanically walked to his wardrobe and began rummaging through it, trying to decide which clothes he would bring on this destinationless journey he was about to take. He didn’t even know what else to bring besides clothes; he knew absolutely nothing about life as an AWOL. All he knew was that people did it, and most times they failed miserably and got unwound anyway. The ones that weren’t captured right off the bat often disappeared off the grid, never to be heard from again.

“Oooh, who am I kidding?” Harry moaned, putting his hands to his head and sitting back on his bed with a thud. “I’ll never make it as an AWOL! And what kind of a life is that, anyway? Always running, always looking over your shoulder, never having any peace until the day you turn 18. I wouldn’t survive two days out there, let alone two years! I’m done for!”

He lay back again and sobbed, the tears dripping down his face and pooling in his ears. As he continued to lay there, his spirits effectively broken and his mind in despair, his cell phone suddenly rang. Sniffling and wondering who would be calling this late in the evening, Harry wiped his eyes, sat up, and answered the phone.

“H-Hello?”

“Harry? It’s Peter. I’ve got something to tell you.”

Harry could hardly believe it. His best friend was calling just a few minutes after Harry had thought of and then dismissed the idea of asking him to essentially become a fugitive with him. How could he possibly tell Peter everything that he’d discovered, everything that had gone through his mind since he’d picked up those papers? Should he even tell him?

And Peter apparently wanted to tell him something, too. Deciding to let Peter deliver his news first, Harry said, “W-What’s up, Pete?”

There was silence on the line for a few moments. Then Peter said, “I’m being unwound.”

Harry’s heart nearly froze in his chest. “What?” he whispered.

Peter sounded on the verge of tears. “I’m being unwound,” he repeated. “I-I found out today. I found the papers in my mom’s bureau. They- oh, God, Harry, they’re unwinding me. Th-The date is set for next Thursday. I can’t believe it. They never indicated that anything was wrong, that I was doing something…wrong,” he finished bleakly. Harry heard sniffles on the other end.

He had to lightly slap his face to get himself out of shock, and he quickly replied, “Peter, I-I gotta tell you something too. I’m also being unwound. T-Tomorrow. It’s happening tomorrow, and oh, Pete, what did I do? I know I’m not a perfect son, or a perfect student, or even a mediocre one, but I never thought he’d actually do it! I never thought he’d actually  _ do it,  _ Pete!”

He was sobbing again now, the words tumbling freely from his mouth as he finally collapsed and vented to his best friend.

“H-He always said he’d do it if he had to, and my dad never jokes, but I thought I was doing fine! I-I-I pulled my grades up! I kept my mouth shut when he said hurtful and thoughtless shit! I stayed out of his way like he wanted, and he still signed the order! W-Why!? Does he really hate me that much!?”

Peter’s voice spoke up on the other end a few beats later. “Harry, God, I…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The other boy’s voice became choked with despair as he sobbed, “I’m sorry this is happening to both of us. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

The boys stayed on the phone like that for a good while longer, each wallowing in pity for the other and for themselves, until finally, Peter sniffled again and coughed a few times. Harry heard him take a deep breath, as if trying to regain some semblance of calm.

“Harry…I have…this crazy idea.”

Harry wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “Y-Yeah? T-Tell me.”

“What if we kicked AWOL?”

“I had thought about it, but I didn’t think I’d make it,” Harry confessed quietly. “I-I even thought about asking you to come with me, but then I dismissed it ‘cause I didn’t wanna drag my best friend into this mess.” He laughed and hiccupped. “Guess it’s moot now.”

Peter laughed as well, and for an absurd moment Harry felt as if this were just a normal conversation, one of the hundreds they’d had in the many years they’d been friends.

“Well, if you thought about it, and I thought about it, it must be a good idea,” Peter concluded. He sounded slightly less fearful and depressed than he had a few minutes ago, and Harry was almost beginning to wonder if maybe they couldn’t make it. Alone they were just teenage boys (well, okay, that wasn’t entirely true. Harry was just a teenage boy; Peter was a teenage boy with spider powers), but together they were a force to be reckoned with. 

Well…maybe not, but there were numerous advantages to going together: they could look out for each other, keep each other company, and help each other out of binds. Together, they just might have a chance.

“I…okay,” Harry said, quietly at first. Then, more confidently, “Okay. You know what? You’re right. Let’s do it. Let’s kick AWOL. It’s better than just waiting to be shipped off to a harvest camp.”

He heard his friend cheer on the other end of the line.

“Alright, Harry!! Yeah! We’re gonna DO this! We’re gonna kick AWOL and survive, and when we come back two years later, our parents are gonna be so shocked they’ll forget why they ever signed the orders in the first place!”

Suddenly, Peter lowered his voice, and he heard the spider-boy chuckle.

“Heheh…I…forgot it might be best not to talk so loud about that kinda stuff. Sorry.”

Harry laughed again, feeling heady from the rush of adrenaline the anticipation of running away had given him, but then a thought occurred.

“But Pete, where are we gonna go?” he asked. “How can we survive on the streets for two whole years? We’re bound to get caught before our 18 th birthdays.”

“Ah!” Peter exclaimed. “I just so happen to know the perfect place, my friend.”

There was the sound of socked feet skidding across the floor, and then a squeak as Peter sat in his old computer desk chair. Fingers flew over the keyboard, creating a distinct typing sound, and then Harry heard Peter say, “Ah-ha! Here it is.” The spider-boy began to read aloud from what Harry assumed was a news website.

“‘San Francisco Offers Sanctuary to All AWOLs on the Run: San Francisco’s Mayor creates the AWOL Asylum Act to give refuge to any teen looking for a safe place to escape their unwinding.’” Peter laughed. “Great, isn’t it? What a swell guy!”

Harry felt his heart lift with the prospect of hope. “I can’t believe it!” he chuckled, shaking his head. “A city in the states - the  _ United States - _ is offering asylum?”

“Apparently the mayor of San Fran thinks Unwinding is nasty business just like so many of us kids do,” Peter replied. “But Harry, you get what I’m saying? If we can make it to San Francisco, we’ll be home free! No one could touch us! And the best part is, I already know a guy out there who’s taking advantage of the AAA. I bet if we call him and ask him, he’ll let us crash at his place for sure!”

All of this information was almost too much for the boy to take in. It was perfect; almost too perfect.

Harry sighed. “I really, really hate to be such a downer, but how are we ever gonna make it to San Francisco, Pete? I mean, it’s clear across the country! And we sure as hell can’t get on any planes, not anymore. Trains’ll be just as bad. San Francisco’s the end goal, but…if we can’t even make it there, what good will that AWOL Asylum Act do us?” 

“Hey, come on, Har!” Peter said encouragingly. “Don’t write it off just yet! You and me, we’re crafty, we’re smart; we’ll find a way! No one’s gonna stop us from getting to that city and living out the rest of our lives. We deserve to live just as much as anyone else, and we’re not gonna sit back and take our Unwindings like docile tithes. So, you with me?”

Harry pondered everything Peter said quietly for a short time. He went over all the possible ways the plan could fail: getting caught by juvie cops, getting caught by parts pirates, getting caught before even leaving; all scenarios ended with their unwinding.

And then he allowed himself to imagine the one ending where they didn’t get sent to a harvest camp, appraised for their talents, and then mercilessly torn apart. He imagined himself and Peter living it up in some artsy California high rise with Peter’s friend, laughing about their parents’ likely flustered reactions, reminiscing about their long journey, and maybe even finding some boyfriends in the two years they resided there.

_ Now THAT would be something,  _ Harry thought to himself.  _ If I came home not only alive, but with a San Franciscan boyfriend, too. Dad would blow a gasket. _

The thought made him smile.

“Yeah. I’m with you, Pete.”

“Awesome! I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Harry jumped. “Wait, what?”

“Your unwinding’s tomorrow,” Peter said. “There’s no time to waste! We gotta get out of here tonight.”

“Pete, wait, I-”

“Make sure you pack light!”

Before he could protest further, Peter hung up. Harry stared at his phone while his mind raced.

_ Well, he’s right,  _ he admitted.  _ We can’t wait until tomorrow. We’ve gotta go tonight. _

He stood up and crossed to his dresser, more purposefully this time. As he began selecting clothes and tossing them onto his bed, he steeled his nerves and pictured the ideal scene he’d imagined moments before.

_ It could happen,  _ he told himself.  _ You could make it. You and Pete are gonna make it. You’re gonna make it. _


	2. In Which the Boys Visit A Pharmacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys officially begin their attempt to kick AWOL, fleeing the city in Peter's mother's car (after all, they need it more than she does). Peter may not be the best driver, but he's doing his best.

Peter wasn’t the best driver, but that hardly mattered now; fleeing for one’s life often required drastic measures. Besides, it wasn’t like he was _that_ bad; he prided himself on having a basic grasp on how to do the usual driving things. It was just that when it came to getting up to speed on highways, and changing lanes quickly, and not lightly rear-ending the car in front of him when at a stoplight, he sometimes fell a bit short of what was expected.

Harry had never driven with Peter before, so it was definitely a shock to him when Peter haphazardly wove in between cars, zoomed down back alleys much too fast, and even ran a red light or two, causing a chorus of angry beeping to erupt from the cars they’d cut off.

“Pete!” Harry yelped once he’d finally regained his voice, clutching the sides of his seat for dear life. “Slow down! _Slow down!”_

“Slow down?” Peter asked, briefly looking over at his friend as he spun the steering wheel so hard to the right that Harry banged his head against the passenger side window. “I can’t slow down! We’re on the run now, Harry, we gotta move fast!”

“Listen to me!” Harry gasped, turning green and trying very hard not to throw up. “We’re AWOLs! People know how AWOLs act, and we’re acting just like them right now by driving like we’ve got hell at our heels- which we do, I might add!” He yelped again as a car nearly t-boned them in an intersection. “Please, slow down! We gotta look more inconspicuous! Besides, even if they didn’t immediately identify us as AWOLs, just look at all the mayhem we’re causing!” Harry protested. “We’ll get arrested either way!’

Peter listened as his friend spoke, and he had to agree it made a lot of sense. With great effort, he brought the car’s speed down until it was at the accepted speed limit for New York City. Harry sighed in relief.

“Whew,” Peter laughed, sounding a bit sheepish. “You, uh, you’re right, pal. Sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away, what with us being fugitives now and all. My already less-than-stellar driving skills combined with the speed and adrenaline probably didn’t do us any favors.”

“It’s alright, Pete,” Harry assured him, brushing some hair back off his forehead while Peter continued to drive- albeit much more stably- through the dark streets of the city. “Hopefully no one got our license plate or thought anything of it. I think I’ll feel better once we get out of the city, though. Out of the state, too.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “I will, too. We need to get someplace where nobody could possibly recognize us before we bed down for the night. You brought some money with you, right?”

Harry nodded. During his frantic packing spree, he’d managed to have the presence of mind to grab his wallet off his desk, which contained three hundred dollars in cash and one credit card. Aside from that, all he’d brought was two changes of clothes, his cell phone, his current novel, and a notepad and pen, all hastily shoved into a black backpack that he’d found on his closet floor. Everything else had been left behind; AWOLs couldn’t afford the luxury of packing such things as comfort items or even basic toiletries. Everything hinged on being able to make a quick getaway if need be, and an AWOL with a heavy pack would soon find themself in a harvest camp dormitory.

Still, just because he’d packed light didn’t mean he didn’t miss all of his other belongings he’d left behind; he especially regretted not taking the stuffed rabbit his late mother had gifted him as a young child, and the snow globe he’d gotten during their last trip as a family to the Bronx Zoo. Alas, these items were not necessities, not to mention heavy, so they’d had to be left behind.

Peter had packed just as light as Harry; all he had was another jacket (this one in pink instead of blue), a comb, the emergency money from his sock drawer, and a small jar of Nutella. Oh, and his mother’s car.

_She sure will be mad when she finds out that her AWOL of a son took her precious silver Sedan,_ Peter thought. _Well, if they don’t have me to take care of anymore, I’m sure they’ll be able to afford a new one in no time. Besides, Har and I need this more than they do right now._

As he continued driving, he found himself yawning. Harry noticed and asked, “Tired?” Peter nodded, yawning a second time.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine, though.” He glanced at Harry and smiled wearily. “You should get some rest, pal. We have a long journey ahead of us. It’ll be no good if both of us are shot.”

Harry looked a bit worried. “But Pete, it wouldn’t be fair,” he said. “Would it? I mean, you’re the one doing all the driving. The least I could do is keep a lookout.”

Peter shook his head. “Nah,” he said dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, Har, I’ll be fine, really. You should sleep while you can. I’ll rest when we find a motel.” He smiled again, encouragingly, and Harry maintained an unsure look until he finally gave in and leaned his head against the window.

“Alright,” he mumbled. “But wake me up as soon as there’s trouble, okay?”

Peter laughed tiredly. “Hopefully there won’t be any trouble. But yeah, sure. I will.”

And so, Harry stared out the window for a while before closing his eyes, and he finally succumbed to sleep not ten minutes later.

*****

Harry woke up when he felt himself being shaken gently by his shoulder. “Harry,” Peter mumbled, sounding exhausted. “Harry, wake up.”

Harry sat bolt upright, a little startled cry escaping his lips.

“What!? What is it?” he gasped, whipping his head from side to side. “Did something happen? Did we get caught? Where are we!?”

“Easy, pal,” Peter chuckled, though it was as tired as before. “We’re fine. I saw a CVS nearby, so I figured we should stop. I didn’t bring any basic toiletries, did you?”

Harry thought for a moment, then shook his head almost sheepishly.

“Err…no.”

“Exactly,” Peter said, nodding. “Which is why we gotta…go in and get some. Just…just a few things. Sound good?”

Harry could tell that his friend was near delirium by the way he paused every so often in his speech. To be fair, he wasn’t much better; the short rest had been helpful, but the stress had taxed his energy so much that he was barely coherent himself now that the adrenaline of the initial flight had worn off.

“Yeah, I gotcha, Pete,” Harry replied, fumbling for his seatbelt. “Let’s go.”

The two boys got out of the car, Peter locked it, and then they stumbled toward the CVS. Upon entering the pharmacy, Peter and Harry had to shield their eyes from the stark fluorescent lights.

“Oogh,” Peter groaned. “Too bright…”

He looked around and spotted a single female cashier leaning against the counter, looking bored. She appeared to be the only one left of the night shift, and it was clear she just wanted to go home by this point. Peter didn’t blame her; he wouldn’t want to be up at three in the morning, either. Unfortunately he and Harry, like the cashier, had no choice.

The cashier raised an eyebrow when the two boys came stumbling in, but she didn’t say anything as they headed down the aisles toward the back of the store.

“Wha’ do we need?” Harry asked, leaning against a shelf of acne creams tiredly. Peter continued past him toward another aisle, murmuring, “Toothbrushes…washcloths…I think that’s it…can’t take too much…”

Harry followed his friend to the oral hygiene aisle, and while Peter scanned the shelves for two regular, plastic toothbrushes, Harry glanced at the shelves opposite and blinked. He rubbed his eyes blearily, then asked, “Hey, Pete? Do we, uh…do we need hemorrhoid cream?”

Peter looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

“No, I…I don’t think so. We don’t have that.”

Harry considered this, then nodded.

“Yeah…guess you’re right.”

He wandered a few feet away, and he soon found himself in the toy aisle, if one could call it that; all it held were some art supplies, a few coloring books, and a tall rack of various plastic toy cars.

A bright blue Volkswagen Beetle caught Harry’s eye, and he picked it up and studied it, transfixed, tilting it this way and that. Nodding slightly again, he headed back to Peter and waited while the spider-boy finished grabbing the toothbrushes. When Peter straightened back up and noticed the toy car, he tilted his head.

“We need this,” Harry insisted. Peter stared at the car for a few moments before nodding in agreement.

“You’re…you’re right. We definitely need this.”

He began to make his way back toward the front of the store, and Harry called, “Wait…what about…what about the washcloths?”

Peter looked back at him and thought it over before flipping his hand dismissively.

“Aah, forget it. Don’t need ‘em. Let’s go.”

Harry was too exhausted to argue, so he followed Peter to the front. Since there wasn’t a single other soul in the store besides the boys and the cashier, Peter walked right up to the counter and plunked the toothbrushes down. Harry placed the car beside them, and Peter looked at the woman expectantly.

When the cashier only gazed at them a bit incredulously, Peter said, “That’s…that’s it.”

She continued to stare at the two delirious, disheveled boys, their hair a bit ruffled, their eyes barely open, their entire presence practically acting as a sign proclaiming, “AWOLs Right Here! Get ‘em while They’re Incoherent!” Then, she gave a great sigh.

“I know you two are probably AWOLs,” she said at last, tapping her red-painted nails on the counter. The boys were silent, only staring at her with neutral expressions. “I know that I could probably get a lot of money for turning you in,” the woman continued. “Maybe even enough to retire from this shitty job. But…” She sighed again, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was doing. “You look so damn pathetic and done with life that I just can’t give you up. Just…take your toothbrushes and…plastic toy car, get back in your car, and go. Here, take a chap stick, too.” 

She grabbed a cherry-flavored lip balm from a plastic container near the register and tossed it down next to the car and toothbrushes. “Just…just go. Quick. Before I change my mind.”

Peter and Harry, though past the point of exhaustion, understood that the cashier was taking a great risk by letting them go, and they cautiously nodded before picking up their things.

“…Thank you,” Peter said, offering her a weak smile. The cashier crossed her arms and maintained her stern look for a good ten seconds before allowing the smallest of faint smiles to appear on her face.

“Like I said, just go. I don’t know where you’re going, but…make sure you get there. Okay? Just so my doing this won’t be for nothing.”

Peter and Harry nodded again, and with that, they left the store. The cashier watched them exit, and once they’d gone, she leaned back and shook her head, breathing a small sigh.

“I’m going soft,” she murmured. “The boss will kill me if he finds out.”

However, something inside of her secretly felt good at the thought that she had helped two tired, helpless Unwinds. Truth be told, in the past few months, she had actually begun to feel as if maybe unwinding wasn’t as great as everyone purported it to be. Sure, she’d been all for it once she’d exited her teenage years, and felt it was a good alternative to keeping offending delinquents in juvenile hall. 

However, a certain incident in April had made her realize that not every Unwind was marked because of delinquency. Somehow, her younger sister being unwound for a bad report card hadn’t seemed right to her.

Either way, the woman was slowly beginning to think that perhaps many of the kids facing unwinding weren’t truly criminals, as she’d thought previously, but rather desperate teenagers who either weren’t as smart as their peers, or had incredibly strict parents who couldn’t handle the usual attitudes of teens.

_Whatever those kids’ stories are,_ the cashier woman thought, _I really hope they make it. Maybe…maybe they can get the chance my little sister never got._

She glanced at her watch, saw that her shift was almost over, and began readying things for the next employee. If they asked her if anyone had come in during her shift, she’d laugh and question who in their right mind would come to a CVS at 3 AM. 

“Only AWOLs,” the other employee would joke, and she would laugh again and agree. After all, she knew firsthand. 


	3. In Which A Threat Arises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys wake up to discover they've somehow (miraculously) found a place to sleep unhindered. After a brief mini-heist to recover Peter's beloved jar of Nutella, they set out to find a relatively quiet place to grab some food. Unfortunately, they pick the absolute wrong rest stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I know I haven't uploaded this one in a while - that's my bad. I almost forgot; life's been almost non-stop crazy!! Unfortunately there probably won't be a new Undertale chapter up this week, because I've got one more final to hand in and it's requiring pretty much all my creative efforts. ^^" Luckily, I have On the Run all set and ready to go in these cases! I'll try so, so hard to start my regular uploading schedule again next week. Hope everyone's doing okay <3

Peter wasn’t sure how he was able to drive after leaving the CVS, but when he woke up and realized he was in a bed that was much too soft and smelled vaguely of blue cheese, he knew the transition must’ve happened.

Emitting a noise that sounded like a cross between a velociraptor and an excited corgi, Peter sat up and stretched and tried to puzzle out the pieces that were missing from the night before.

_ Let’s see,  _ the spider-boy thought, looking toward the ceiling in concentration.

He remembered groggily asking the seventeen-year-old with shockingly green hair and a nose stud for a room, and when the kid suspiciously asked him if he and Harry were Unwinds, Peter gave him what he thought was a coy smile (it was really more of a goofy, lopsided grin) and tried to flirt his way into keeping the clerk quiet and scoring a room. Flirting hadn’t impressed the other teen in the slightest, and it was clear he’d been about to call the Juvie-Cops, so Peter had done what any desperate, exhausted Unwind would do: he offered his small jar of Nutella in exchange for the clerk’s silence. To their surprise, it also bought them a room for the night — the other boy had been so excited about the prospect of Nutella that he hadn’t even charged them for it. 

It had seemed like a good deal at the time - and, indeed, it was a fantastic deal considering they still had all their money and were not being shipped off to a harvest camp - but now, as he sat there remembering the events of last night, Peter frowned deeply and hit the bed in outrage.

“He conned me out of my Nutella!”

The angry cry of his friend startled Harry awake, and he immediately shot up in bed, his head whipping from side to side.

“Gaaahh!”

Peter looked sheepish.

“Oops! Heh, sorry, Harry. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Oh, ‘s fine, Pete,” Harry said, trying to slow his breathing, one hand on his chest. “Just startled me, that’s all. Uh, what’s all the yelling about, though?”

Peter’s frown returned.

“Remember the clerk from last night?” he asked. Harry crossed his arms as he thought.

“Vaguely?” he said at last. “I dunno, I think my brain was kind of running on fumes at that point. What about him?”

Peter pouted. “He conned me outta my Nutella!”

Harry blinked. “He did?”

“Yeah!!”

“How?”

“Well, I told him I’d give it to him if he wouldn’t call the juvie cops on us, and then he gave us the room for it too.”

Harry blinked again. Then he said, “Uh, Pete, I wouldn’t really call that getting conned.”

His friend stared at him, eyes narrowed. 

“Explain.”

“Uh…well…” Harry shifted his position so that he was sitting cross-legged underneath the covers. “I mean, he DID hold up his end of the bargain, I think. We did get the room, and so far no juvie cops have busted down the door with tranq pistols. So, I’d say we probably got the better end of the deal.”

Peter was quiet as he processed Harry’s observations, then grimaced.

“Yeah…okay, I guess you’re right.” His features grew angry again.

“But I’m still Nutella-less! That was my one snack I brought with me, and there’s no way I’m leaving this motel without it.”

Harry got out of bed and ran his fingers through his hair idly, then looked back at his friend.

“Whaddaya mean, Pete? It’s not like we can just steal it back.”

The grim mask of determination on Peter’s face told Harry that the spider-boy thought otherwise.

*****

When the boys slipped into the lobby of the shoddy motel, the clerk from last night was nowhere to be seen. In fact, not a single employee was anywhere in sight; it appeared that they were either in the middle of a shift change, or this place was so terribly run that they just didn’t care if the front desk wasn’t staffed at all times.

Peter immediately spotted his little jar of Nutella sitting on the desk, and his eyes lit up with triumph.

“Ah-ha! Right out in the open. This should be a breeze.”

As Peter stealthily moved toward the front desk, Harry hung back, biting his nails.

“Pete, I don’t know about this,” he said nervously. “I mean, we did trade it away fair and square. What if he sends the Juvie-Cops after us out of spite? Or what if someone catches us right now? This is a bad idea!”

Peter’s eyes were locked on the Nutella. “Harry, you don’t understand,” he said, still creeping closer and closer. “That jar of Nutella may be the last taste I have of that sweet, sweet ambrosia for who knows how long.”

“They sell them at Walmart for ninety-nine cents!” Harry yelped. Peter waved his hand dismissively.

“Trivial information. Just trust me on this, Harry, I need that jar back. If not for a need, then for my pride.”

Harry sighed and covered his eyes with his hands, convinced that at any moment an employee would burst into the room with three Juvie-Cops in tow. When ten seconds had passed and he and Peter hadn’t been tranq’d, he slowly parted his fingers so he could see through the slats. His friend was nowhere in sight, and neither was the jar of Nutella. Harry immediately felt his breath hitch.

“Pete? Pete?!”

“Mission accomplished,” said a pleased voice from right beside him. Harry shrieked and jumped nearly a foot in the air. When he touched down, a sheepish Peter stood on his right, the small jar in hand.

“Whoops! Sorry, pal.”

Harry took a deep breath and willed his heart to stop beating so rapidly.

“It’s fine, Pete. If we can keep the number of heart attacks you’ve given me today to two, though, I’d really appreciate it.”

Peter chuckled. “Sure thing, Har. Now come on, let’s get outta here before that clerk or any of his fellow employees come back.” Harry nodded, relieved.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

Together, the two boys darted out of the lobby, the jar of Nutella held aloft by Peter in victory, jumped in the silver Sedan, and then they were on their way. Watching the motel disappear in the rearview mirror, Harry gave a sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe you did all of that for Nutella.”

Peter grinned and glanced at his friend for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. “Never underestimate the lengths I’ll go to for delicious hazelnut paste, my friend.”

Harry laughed, and Peter joined in as they continued down the road.

_ Well, we survived our first night as fugitives,  _ Peter thought optimistically.  _ This isn’t so hard. I mean, we had a few close calls, but we’re just fine. Yeah! I bet it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out. _

Unfortunately, the sailing was actually about to get a lot rougher in the near future, and Peter would look back on this brief moment of confidence and wonder if he jinxed himself.

*****

Peter and Harry debated getting breakfast at a number of rest stops, but they were all dismissed by one or the other based on factors like food choice, apparent cleanliness, or amount of cars in the parking lot; they both agreed that the less people around, the better.

Ultimately they settled on a small rest stop just off the parkway, and this decision is what shaped nearly the entire rest of their journey.

Pulling into the parking lot, Peter glanced around with satisfaction at the few cars residing there.

“Perfect. Looks like there’s barely anyone here.”

Harry also looked around and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, thankfully. C’mon, let’s go get some breakfast; I’m starved.”

Peter cut the engine and opened the door, waited until Harry got out to lock it, and then he and his friend headed into the gray building. Immediately upon entering, Peter and Harry could see just how small it really was: there were only about ten or fifteen tables in the main dining area, surrounded by five restaurants (three on the right side and two on the left), and the “gift shop”, if one could call it that, was a tiny space carved out in a corner with a single wall of cheap candy and chips and several tabloid magazines.

Though the selection of restaurants was small; only Burger King, Popeye’s, Starbucks, Subway, and Panda Express; the boys found no trouble in finding food they enjoyed, and were soon sitting at a table near the entrance with their egg and cheese “croissan’wiches”.

“Mmm,” Peter mumbled as he bit into his breakfast. “Nothing like overly-processed food to get your day started.”

Harry chuckled and took a bite of his own. “I’ll say. This stuff hits the spot.”

The two boys continued eating their food and paused to chat between every few bites, and they were so absorbed in their own conversation that they didn’t notice two men, both dressed in rather sharp suits for a rest stop, sitting a few tables away and staring at them.

Both men were incredibly tall. They crested six feet at least, and the taller of the two was only about an inch above his friend. One had very dark hair and was clean shaven, with mischievous green eyes that were focused intently on Peter. The other man was a redhead, and had a considerable mustache and beard combo. His eyes were fixated on Harry, and a gleeful grin was on his face. Their attire was extremely out of place in the run-down old rest area, but nobody seemed to pay them any mind as they went about their business, least of all the teenage boys.

As the two boys continued to take no notice of their watchers, the dark-haired man leaned into his partner and spoke in a hushed tone. Though they were out of ear-shot of Peter and Harry, he still didn’t want to take any chances of being overheard.

“Look at them, Roberto,” he murmured, a smirk settling on his lips as he eyed the boys. “Do you see what I see?”

Roberto shivered with anticipation and nodded vigorously.

“Oh, yes, Xavier,” he whispered excitedly. “I see a couple of fresh parts ripe for the picking.”

Xavier dipped his head in agreement.

“Oh, indeed, indeed. It looks to me like we’ve got ourselves a couple of little runaway Unwinds.”

Xavier liked to think he had a special knack for spotting Unwinds. Maybe it was the way they moved, maybe it was the look they always had in their eyes, or maybe it was just something he could sense about them, but he could always tell when a teenager was an AWOL. Looking at the two boys a few tables away, chatting happily but still clearly a bit tense and on-guard, Xavier knew for a fact that he and his friend had another pair of Unwinds on their hands. Which was just as well; although he and Roberto were not operating under the same law that bound the Juvie-Cops, and would be more than happy to snag any hapless teen, capturing too many non-AWOL kids would create a stir, and a stir could mean trouble for their little operation. Yes, it was much better to grab AWOLs; the Juvie-Cops might be sore about missing out on a payday, but in the end, nobody would miss them.

“When do we strike?” Roberto whispered. The giddiness was apparent in his voice; Roberto always did get excitable when confronted with a job opportunity. It wasn’t merely the pay that excited him, Xavier knew, but the act of the job itself. Xavier found it enjoyable as well; he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. It took a special kind of personality to become a Parts Pirate, and Xavier and Roberto fit the bill.

“Shhh,” Xavier murmured, even though Roberto hadn’t spoken above the volume one might use in a library. “We must plan carefully, Roberto. We mustn’t make a scene.” He thought to himself, calculating things in his head. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll wait until they’re finished and follow them out to the parking lot. There’s a little section of alleyway between this rest stop and the gas station next door; you’ll go around to one end while I take the other, we’ll corner them there, tranq them, and then we’ll be on our way. Sound good?”

The ginger man was practically vibrating with excitement. “Yes, yes, let’s do it!” he whispered exuberantly. “Oh, I do hope there are leftovers this time. Last time the customer bought everything, and there was nothing left to-”

Xavier elbowed his companion and hissed out the side of his mouth, “Roberto! They’re leaving!”

Sure enough, Peter and Harry had finished their breakfast and were heading toward the doors, Peter with his hands in his pockets and Harry idly brushing some of his own hair behind his ear.

Immediately, Xavier and Roberto rose from their seats and quickly but nonchalantly began walking the same way, following at a safe distance so that their prey wouldn’t grow suspicious.

They really did look like fine specimens, even from the few glimpses they’d gotten since spotting them a few minutes ago. Watching the two meander out the doors, Xavier grinned privately to himself at the thought of the payday to come. 

**Author's Note:**

> Spider-Man/Marvel Characters - (c) - Marvel Entertainment
> 
> Unwind - (c) - Neal Shusterman


End file.
